Brief Review of 8 Day Conquest Cruise

[Folsom]

Good day,

I thought I would share my thoughts about or recent 4/16-4/24 cruise on the Conquest. These are just my opinions and observations and as such yours may be different.

 

About us: There were 2 couples in out party this cruise all in late 40's to early 50's and have cruised between 3 and 8 times. This is my 4th Carnival cruise.

 

Embarkation: We bought faster to the fun, but ended up at a friends house in Ft. Lauderdale prior to boarding the ship so we did not get to the pier until around 1:30. The FTF line was empty and we moved through quickly and was on-board and in my room in about 15 minutes.

 

The Ship: While, I had read plenty of the poor condition of the Conquest, I was pleased with her overall condition. Sure you could find peeling paint and wear and tear, but they were minor compared to the style that this ship has. I had sailed on the Freedom before, so I really like this layout and the Conquest decor was more to my liking than the Freedom.

 

I generally like the smaller ships and this seems to be about the right size for my taste. I did think that the ship was a little crowded at times but was always manageable. This is also the first 2.0 ship that I have sailed on and love the additions that come with it. I will say that this is now my favorite Carnival vessel to date

 

Dining: OK, I will start with the "Tablecloth" debate, since it seems like such a hot topic on CC. Yes, they have removed the tablecloths for all non-Formal night dinners. Did I miss them for a second? No. Infact, the rest of our party and the others at our table, did not even notice that they were missing, until I pointed it out. There are holders for the water that collect the condensation, so there are no "water rings". Nothing slid across the table even when we had some rough waves and they will bring you all of the napkins you want if you don't want your soup spoon to touch the table. In my opinion, this is the biggest non-issue, issue on-board.

 

As far as food quality, I was very impressed with the selection and quality of the food. I never had a bad meal in the MDR and would consider the overall food to be very good. The selection was also to my taste and I do not see the issue with the American Table concept. Infact I kept thinking that I would end up eating the Flat Iron Steak every time I was unhappy with the choices, but never ordered it once. There was always something appealing and was always happy with the food.

 

I like Guy's burgers, but don't quite get the fascination. To hear some people talk, it is THE reason for cruising with Carnival. I think it must be appealing to folks who do not have a Smash Burger or a 5-Guys near them, as I thought they were very similar. I did enjoy the Blue Iguana almost every day for breakfast, but that was because the line for the buffet were usually quire long and slow moving. Also, I am a big fan of the fish and chips place. Never a wait and the fish was pretty good, but loved the calamari fritters and the seafood soup. Finally, we hit Pizza Pirate almost every night for a snack before bed. I thought they were very good for a thin crust pizza.

 

We did eat on the Lido deck one night and I was not thrilled. The lines were long and the meats well over cooked. I ended up just eating salad, which is not a bad thing I guess.

 

we did eat at the steakhouse one night and this ended up being my worst experience on the cruise. To make a long story (kinda) short, I checked in with the host to verify by dining time. She told me that she had no reservation for me and they were booked for the evening. I said, I know I have a reservation, but she told me there was nothing she could do for that night (my wifes B-day). So I head back to my room to pull up my confirmation e-mail, but of course it was too long ago to be on my phone, which only goes back a few weeks. I ended up paying $16 for the internet plan for a day, found the confirmation and went back to see the host. She looked at my phone and said "OK, we will see you at 6:00". I eventually got guest services to credit my $16 after explaining the problem so they were at least helpful. On to dinner...

 

The meal was wonderful, I ordered the Ribeye, two others had the surf and turf and one had the lobster, everyone in our group agreed that it was better than anything we have had at Mortons and for $35 we would have eaten there again except for the service. I don't know what happened, but the restaurant was only half full and we were put in a corner by ourselves. We had to ask for menu's, water was never poured and we were constantly asking for someone to take a drink order. I have no idea what the problem was but it was one of the worst experiences we have had with Carnival, but the food was amazing, hmmm.

 

I have gotten wordy, so I will post about ports, bars and casino later.

 

Cheers

-F-

[Miller_KC]

Thanks for the review. Sorry about the road bump with the restaurant but glad to hear you had a great cruise.

 

We haven't had the American Table set up yet so I'm holding my judgment of it until my Sept cruise on the Sunshine when I'll have it for the first time. I'm anticipating I will prefer to have the table cloths but I expect I will be good with everything else just as you described it.

 

I thought the music was a little too loud on the Conquest compared to most other ships but I believe they have reduced the use of the DJ and gone to more live music since I was on her. Was the sound level ok for you?

[Folsom]

Thanks for the review. Sorry about the road bump with the restaurant but glad to hear you had a great cruise.

 

We haven't had the American Table set up yet so I'm holding my judgment of it until my Sept cruise on the Sunshine when I'll have it for the first time. I'm anticipating I will prefer to have the table cloths but I expect I will be good with everything else just as you described it.

 

I thought the music was a little too loud on the Conquest compared to most other ships but I believe they have reduced the use of the DJ and gone to more live music since I was on her. Was the sound level ok for you?

 

Most of the music was live, there were:

2 guys playing caribbean music with steel drums that were excellent

An electronic string trio that was really good and different.

A guitar player who my wife really liked.

A singing trio, that I never really saw much of

and a person playing a squeeze box of some kind)

A DJ that played dance music in the lobby, nightclub and Lido

 

I would say they could be loud if you were right near them, but was not an issue for us. I generally liked all of them, but I am tone deaf (ask my wife) and like most live music, so I am not a good judge of quality.

 

Cheers

-F-

[My6Dogs]

The meal was wonderful, I ordered the Ribeye, two others had the surf and turf and one had the lobster, everyone in our group agreed that it was better than anything we have had at Mortons and for $35 we would have eaten there again except for the service. I don't know what happened, but the restaurant was only half full and we were put in a corner by ourselves. We had to ask for menu's, water was never poured and we were constantly asking for someone to take a drink order. I have no idea what the problem was but it was one of the worst experiences we have had with Carnival, but the food was amazing, hmmm.

 

 

I think I would have complained about the service. I normally just go with the flow on things, but horrible service in a "step up" dining facility would really piss me off. Glad the food was good!!! :)

 

Mike

[Miller_KC]

Most of the music was live, there were:

2 guys playing caribbean music with steel drums that were excellent

An electronic string trio that was really good and different.

A guitar player who my wife really liked.

A singing trio, that I never really saw much of

and a person playing a squeeze box of some kind)

A DJ that played dance music in the lobby, nightclub and Lido

 

I would say they could be loud if you were right near them, but was not an issue for us. I generally liked all of them, but I am tone deaf (ask my wife) and like most live music, so I am not a good judge of quality.

 

Cheers

-F-

 

Thanks, it sounds like it is better now. I like the live music better, but even then I could do without it being really loud. You listed a lot of variety. That is good too!

[JaneAustenite]

Thanks for the review. We'll be on the Conquest in June. We have steakhouse reservations, so, I just printed the confirmation email, just in case.

[bakersdozen12]

Thanks for the review! I'm looking forward to reading the rest. My husband and I are cruising on the Conquest on July 2nd, and this is just making me look forward to it even more!

[JaniceB]

Thanks for your review. Sorry about the steak house experience, but thanks for the heads up. I am printing out my confirmation.

[Folsom]

Just an FYI, as far as the Steakhouse issue, I am not a big complainer and would not expect them to have done anything as mistakes happen. My biggest gripe was the host, did not seem to be the least bit concerned and offered no apology their error. An "I am sorry" goes a long way in my book.

 

But now onwards...

 

The highlight of our cruise was the comedy club by far. I think we hit it every night but one (we watched Star Wars on the Lido) and found the comics to be some of the best we have seen. They are certainly not for the easily offended but we did not find them to be too over the top. Also, we did not see anyone who appeared under 18 so that was not an issue for us.

 

We did hit the casino on a couple of nights, and had no luck this time around. We would have spent much more time there, but the smoke was terrible. You could smell it halfway down the walk way on some nights. I am fairly tolerant of smoking and understand that the smokers have been pushed to a small number of spaces, but the amount of smoke around the casino is just ridiculous, so we tried to avoid it.

 

We only attended one stage show and it was the hypnotist. I thought it was pretty funny, but felt bad for some of those folks. I'm not sure why you would volunteer for that, but I guess they get to tell some stories.

 

We enjoyed the live music on board, especially the steel drum band and the electronic string trio. My wife also enjoyed Gramm the guitarist. Tommy G in the piano bar seemed to complain a lot about the song requests, but when he did sing he was enjoyable.

 

As I stated we saw Star Wars on the big screen on the Lido. This was the first time we had done this, and had a good time. It was a little windy but we all had a good time with the movie.

 

Bars:

EA Sports Bar: Andrei was a great bartender and I hung out here a lot, despite the casino smoke. Red Frog on tap here.

 

Red Frog / Blue Iguana: We got the turvises which means they pour more mixer but I don't think any more booze. It is nice that they offer shade by the pool.

 

Alfred's: The hidden gem. Just outside of the MDR, we stopped here every night before dinner. Almost no one was ever in there and they have a good wine selection (Conundrum is great). If you want a good, fast drink. This is the spot.

 

Alchemy: The bar I was most looking forward to. The first time we went, the bartender (Iulia or soemthing) was rude, unpleasant and dismissive, so I did not go back until the second to last day. That is where Kat showed us what it is all about. She would ask a few questions and then just go to work and every cocktail was amazing. If I had her as a bartender from day one, I would have been there every night.

 

Thoughts on Cheers: For us, it payed for itself by Wednesday. The addition on the coffee, powerade and rockstars were certainly a bonus and we took advantage. I only hit the limit of 15 once and it was not a big deal, as I was just trying to do it one time one the cruise. I do wish they would do away with the limit as it seemed like it was hanging over my head especially on sea days. I was able to get drinks for my wife and I without here present, as they could look up her folio number, so that was never an issue. The most expensive thing I had was a $22 glass of sparkling wine in the steakhouse and I think $12 was the most expensive wine I saw. Most mixed drinks topped out at the $12 range as well, so I am still not sure why they landed on the $50 price limit. There is Hennesy Paradis (sp?) that goes for $60 a glass.

 

That's it for today, I hope you are enjoying the review

 

Cheers

-F-

Edited April 28, 2016 by Folsom